This invention relates to a fishing leader or line used for sport fishing. It relates particularly to a leader or line useful in the sport of fly fishing or spin fishing.
In the sport of fly fishing, the angler uses a long, flexible fly rod made of bamboo, fiberglass or graphite, a fly reel to hold a floating or non-floating fly line that is attached to a tapered or non-tapered leader to which an artificial fly or insect replica is attached.
In the sport of spin fishing, the angler uses a shorter but flexible rod made of bamboo, fiberglass or graphite, an open face or closed face spinning reel to hold a monofilament or braided spinning line that is attached to an artificial lure or to live bait.
Both the fly fishing angler and the spin fishing angler have the need to join lines and leaders of similar and dissimilar materials and diameters together in order to present the fly or the lure in a manner that will attract fish. This is usually done by the angler tying the lines together with one of several knots that have been developed over the years by anglers. Many of the knots that are reliable and satisfactory for this purpose are difficult to tie in the field or are difficult to tie if the angler has poor eyesight or poor finger dexterity. In addition, these knots are usually difficult to untie and usually require the angler to cut the line in order to attach a different leader or lure.
In the sport of fly fishing, the angler usually attaches a tapered, thin monofilament or braided leader line to the end of a relatively heavy braided and coated fly line and then attaches thinner monofilament lines, called tippets, to attach the fly to the end of the leader. Both the leader line and the tippets need frequent replacement in the field as a result of breakage or change in fishing conditions.
The attachment of a thin tapered or non tapered leader line to the heavier braided and coated fly line has always been a problem since the connection between the fly line and the leader must be smooth to reduce wind resistance and to pass through the guides and ferrules of the fly rod. In the past this connection has been accomplished with special knots, special splices, end loops, adhesives and special mechanical connectors. One such connector disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,821 issued in 1986 to Moser is a tube of braided fibers which fits on the end of the fly line and the end of the leader and operates like a Chinese finger trap that when elongated under tension, tightens its grip on the ends of the two lines.
As indicated above, all anglers, and especially fly fisherman have the need to make simple and frequent changes of leaders in the field to accommodate breakages and changes in the fishing conditions. It is quite common to need to change from a long leader to a shorter leader because of a sudden change in wind conditions or in the character of the stream or the type of fly or lure being fished. It is also common for an angler to change from a "sinking" type of leader to a "floating" type of leader to adapt to sudden changes in the fishing environment.